New 'creditors' product insures clients 'debtors' books

Eikos Risk Applications
has just ended its current
financial year on a positive
note but is bracing itself for
a difficult few years ahead
as all indicators point to
a period of continued low
growth, says director Hugh
Reimers.
“We have budgeted
aggressively and we realise
that we can’t rely on
organic growth to grow the
business.”
With several newcomers
having entered the
insurance industry,
serving a finite and in fact
shrinking market, rates are
under pressure which is not
a good thing, says Reimers.
Against this background
of static growth, Eikos has
diversified its portfolio
and introduced a new
‘Creditors’ product focusing
initially on its freight
forwarding client base but
due to be rolled out more
widely in the near future.
“It’s been on our
planning boards for some
time,” said Reimers. “We’re
now able to insure our
clients’ debtors’ books.
Initially we tried to get it
going in partnership with
various service providers
but have now gone out on
our own.”
And while business
growth is an industry-wide
challenge, the skills deficit
is equally so.
Reimers firmly believes
that the demographic
needs to change. “There
are a number of initiatives
under way. An ‘Insurance
Apprentice’ programme
was launched by the
industry a year or so ago
and various institutions
have also introduced
graduate programmes
in insurance and risk
management. There are
a number of professional
qualifications available but
it’s a challenge attracting
people into a very
specialised sector of the
profession.”